this post discusses the chinese character of “po” in sham shui po. in this photo is sham shui po kaifong welfare association primary school that was established in 1964. it is interesting to see that the po is different from the character we commonly use these days. for english speaking readers reference, an added note, some academic findings say that cantonese and hong kong written chinese can trace back to ancient chinese language usage. one vivid example is that if you read poems written in the tang dynasty, around 600 to 900 a.d., in cantonese, the rhythms always work better, versus that in mandarin.

back to “po”, no matter this older version 「埔」 or the current version of “po”「埗」 the meaning points to a place used as pier. nowadays sham shui po feels like very inland, but decades back, it was a very busy commuting waterway hub.